MGCNL’s badminton varsity rallies its way forward in spite of physical exhaustion, academic stress, and the looming threat of COVID-19. “Persevere no matter how hard it is,” thus stated Badminton Team Captain AJ Ching (Gr. 12 STEM).
After a two-year hiatus from in-person practices, the badminton varsity is back to training at the school gym every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday. According to Ching, the most exciting thing about being back face-to-face is seeing his friends again. Meanwhile, Badminton Team Captain Brianna See (Gr.11 STEM) exclaimed that training face-to-face is more fun as they can hit shuttlecocks and interact with their teammates.
Although there have been some changes made in the type of training, like the switch from conditioning to court drills, what has remained a constant is the camaraderie and unity present within the team. “It's just like old times— it’s a super throwback to pre-pandemic,” remarked See.
Regarding personal goals, both See and Ching expressed the hope for the team to grow closer and represent MGCNL in competitions even if they are currently only allowed to participate in one independently. “I really want to join another tournament, especially since it’s my last year already, and my goal is to win another medal since in the past years we won a lot,” proclaimed Ching.
As a school community, we should cheer on our badminton varsity. When asked how Newlifers can better support the badminton varsity Ching replied, “We don’t really get as much recognition compared to basketball and volleyball. They get more coverage than us, but I really hope we can also get coverage because I think we won a lot of awards before the pandemic, and in Ching-Yuen we got gold in all categories. I hope that even after I graduate, the badminton team will still be respected and recognized by the MGC community. See also revealed the need for new shuttles as the current ones are worn out and no longer fly properly, which greatly hinders training."
Being a student-athlete can be overwhelming, so when asked to reflect on the attributes needed to become a better athlete, the seniors emphasized the importance of finding motivation, self-confidence, perseverance, and discipline.
Ching shared that he only joined the badminton varsity after he found the motivation to practice and set his own goals. In addition, he added that “Confidence is also important [because] if you’re not confident and don’t believe in yourself, it’s hard to improve, but if you do, the sky’s the limit.”
Meanwhile, See believes that perseverance and discipline are the keys to becoming a better athlete. “With training, competitions, and balancing other things in life, it would definitely come with disappointments, setbacks, and limitations. Athletes are trained to be physically, emotionally, and mentally stronger than the average person. Which is why when these challenges arise, you should push through in order to reach your full potential,” said the Olive student. “Other than perseverance, I also think that discipline is really important since, without consistency, you’d sort of be training for nothing.”
With all the hurdles and obstacles that today’s post-pandemic world presents, the team captains share this final advice with fellow student-athletes.
“I would just say to stick with your goals, if your goals are relatively big it doesn’t mean that you have to reach them agad, reach the small little goals. Start small, and no matter how hard it is, no matter what life throws at you, keep doing what you love because, at the end of the day, it’s your happiness first,” advised See.
“Even if you can’t go to a court or have physical training, there are other things you can train for at home. We’re still stuck here at home, [but] we still find a way to train. It's important that you don’t find excuses and the pandemic also shouldn’t be an excuse for you. You can always get better wherever you are, as long as you believe in yourself and are confident in yourself,” Ching stressed.
Comments